The present invention is directed to a rolling protective shutter assembly which has a protective shutter, for covering a window or door opening, that may be rolled up into a shutter housing when not in use.
Rolling protective shutters are conventional and are used to provide protection against extreme weather conditions and to deter theft, for example. One such rolling protective shutter is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,322, issued to Miller on Nov. 19, 1996, entitledxe2x80x9cRolling Protective Shutters,xe2x80x9d which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 of that patent, the Miller shutter is composed of a plurality of individual slats and a plurality of hinges interconnecting the slats. Each of the slats has a pair of end portions, and the slats include a first set of slats and a second set of slats, each of the slats in the first and second sets being alternated so that each of the hinges is connected to one of the slats in the first set and one of the slats in the second set. The shutter assembly has a pair of shutter tracks and means for rolling the shutter from an extended position in which the end portions of the slats are disposed in the shutter tracks to a retracted position in which the shutter is rolled up on a shutter support member. The hinges and the shutter tracks are adapted to facilitate, when the shutter is in the extended position, the slats in the first set of slats to occupy a first relative position and the slats in the second set of slats to occupy a second relative position.
In one aspect, the present invention is directed to a rolling shutter assembly having a pair of shutter tracks having guide means adapted to facilitate shutter slats occupying different relative orientations. The rolling shutter assembly has a shutter support member, a shutter coupled to the shutter support member, and a pair of shutter tracks. The shutter is formed of a plurality of shutter members including a slat and a hinge connected to the slat. The shutter members are grouped in a first set and a second set. Each of the shutter members of the first set have a first end portion with a first extension member extending outwardly from the first end portion, and each of the shutter members of the second set have a second end portion with a second extension member extending outwardly from the second end portion.
The shutter assembly further includes means for rolling the shutter from an extended position in which portions of the slats are disposed in the shutter tracks to a retracted position in which the shutter is rolled up on the shutter support member. Each of the shutter tracks has an associated guide channel, and each guide channel has an associated guide means which causes the first extension members to be disposed within the guide channel when the shutter is in the extended position.
In one alternative embodiment, the guide means includes a rigid member adapted to engage the first extension members and a guide member adapted to engage the second extension members so that the second extension members are disposed outside the guide channels. The guide member may be a gate pivotally connected to the shutter track and adapted to deploy the first extension members within the guide channel and to deploy the second extension members outside the guide channel.
In another alternative embodiment, the guide means includes a rigid member adapted to engage the first extension members and a guide member adapted to engage the shutter members of the second set so that the second extension members are disposed outside the guide channels. The guide member may be a resilient member, such as a piece of spring steel or a compression spring. The resilient member is adapted to deflect when engaged by the shutter members of the first set to allow the first extension members to enter the guide channel, and to resist deflection when engaged by the shutter members of the second set to prevent the second extension members from being disposed within the guide channel.
In another aspect, the present invention is directed to a rolling shutter assembly having a shutter adapted to prevent the hinges from linearly aligning. The rolling shutter assembly has a shutter support member, a shutter coupled to the shutter support member, and a pair of shutter tracks. The shutter is formed of a plurality of slats and a plurality of hinges interconnecting the slats. The hinges are grouped in a first set and a second set, with each of the hinges in the first and second sets being alternated. The shutter assembly further includes means for rolling the shutter from an extended position in which portions of the slats are disposed in the shutter tracks to a retracted position in which the shutter is rolled up on the shutter support member. In one embodiment, each hinge of the first set is adapted to restrict the rotation of the hinge of the first set to prevent the hinge of the first set from linearly aligning with the hinges of the second set. In another embodiment, each of the slats includes a first slat portion and a second slat portion angled relative to said first slat portion.
In another aspect, the present invention is directed to a rolling shutter assembly having a shutter adapted to accommodate shutter tracks of varying lengths. The rolling shutter assembly has a shutter support member, a shutter coupled to the shutter support member, and a pair of shutter tracks. The shutter is formed of a plurality of slats and a plurality of hinges interconnecting the slats. The hinges are grouped in a first set and a second set, with each of the hinges in the first and second sets being alternated. The shutter assembly further includes means for rolling the shutter from an extended position in which portions of the slats are disposed in the shutter tracks to a retracted position in which the shutter is rolled up on the shutter support member. The shutter assembly further includes a slat having an adjustable width. The adjustable width slat is positioned as either the bottom-most slat, or as the top-most slat which connects the shutter to the shutter support member.
The features and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the detailed description of the preferred embodiments, which is made with reference to the drawings, a brief description of which is provided below.